, 1887-02-06
OVER A BRIDGE.
Terrible Accident to the Mon
treal Express.
Over Fifty Persons Perish in
the Wreck.
An Affecting Scene Between
Father and Son.
The Vermont Railroad Horror.

River Junction reached the wreck the
progress of the flames had been so rapid
that the bridge and five cars were prac-
tically destroyed. A few burning tim
bers were seen and the iron work of the
bridge was scattered over the ice. The
farmer and had it not been for his hos
pitable roof some of the injured would
doubtless have persisted from exposure.
Chas. NJ. Losmer, of Lowell, Mass. who
was on the train. states that he was in
the Central Vermont sleeping car. He
says: | can remember twenty-one others
who were In the car with ME. | knew
nonc of them personally. There were
five ladies' among them. | was awakened
by the humping Of the car, then came a
crash and all was darkness.
The list of killed SO far as feared is as
follows: Edward Bangs. brakeman,
West Lebanon, n. H.; F. L. Wesson,
Springfield, Mass S. S. Wastcott, Bur
lington, Vt; Cephas Mills, Iroquis, Ont.
E. F. Dillon, OF Dartmouth college, who
is a nephew of Sidney Dillon, of New
York. On the Ice below the bridge are
twenty-six unreconizable bodies. Doubt
less many were entirely cremated. The
Central Vermont railroad officials were at
the scene at an early hour and are doing
everything possible to relieve the suffer
ers.
Mr.. Mccarthy, who went on the relief
train and looked over the track, says that
the broken rail was about twenty rods
from the bridge, and that the engine and
the first two cars did not leave the iron.
The baggage and mail cars were preserved
intact. One man died soon after being
carried into the mail car. Mr.. Mccarthy
saw a man with a little child in his arms
on the bank Of the river. and both were
dead. A woman was lying on the snow
and kind persons had covered her with
what spare clothing they could procure.
Soon after there was sufficient help to re-
move her to the hotel. She was badly
hurt, but still alive.
As soon as the flames had subsidized
sufficiently the work of recovering the
bodies from the wreck was begun. Most
of the remains are so charred as to be
u~nrecognizable. The body of Pullman
Conductor Burgess was one of the first
taken out. 1t was not badly mutt
lated. The remains of a porter OF one
of the cars were identified by his
clothing and watch. The body of A. l..
Wesson. son Of the well known arm
manufacturer of Springfield, was identi-
fed to night by friends from his home.
In the pocket of a blue dress coat was
found a letter written upon a letter head
of C. W. Sanford, agent of the Moxie
Nerve Food company, dated Washington,
d. G., Dec. 30, and addressed to Dear
Charles" The body of the owner is
supposed to have been entirely destroyed
and is supposed by travelling men to have
been hat OF Charles W. Sanford, form
erly in the employ of l.. c. Chase & Co
of Boston. A coat belonging to Charles
A. Hibbard. of Boston. was also found.
Most of the bodies recovered were
taken to the village Of Hartford and
placed in an undertaken establishment.
Thirty-nine bodies in all have been taken
out Of the wreck and only five Of that
number are in any manner reconizaple. 1t
will be impossible to tell how many were
on the train as the conductor had only be-
gan taking up the tickets after leaving
here. Many bodies have probably gone
into the river and are under the ice.
At this hour (midnight) thirty-nine
bodies in all have been recovered from the
wreck, and it is positively known that
forty two persons persisted, while there Is
u probability that a number of other
corpses will be found in the wreck or
under the ice in the creek. Just how
many persons were killed cannot be ascer-
tanned while there exists so much uncer
tainty as to the number on the train. One
of the wrecked cars on the ice has not yet
been overhauled, and it is thought that at
least twenty bodies are in the debris.
Should this prove so, it will run the list OF
killed up to over sixty.
One OF the first passengers to escape
from the burning wreck was Joseph Maiz.
net, a French Canadian boy. He wa.
with his father, David Maiznet, on theil
way from Holyoke to their home in Can
ada. The boy sat three seats behind hi
father, in the third from the rear of tn,
car. He was doing in the seat when h,
felt the car SILVER. This motion was KEEP
up for a few seconds, and then the ca
8 dashed over the bridge upon the ice. b!
hard work the boy succeeded in gettinl
out Of one of the windows, lie at ono
went in search Of his father and discov
cred him by the light of the burning
wreck just above him, pinned down by
, part Of the car which had fallen directl
across his chest and legs.
The father was very cool and told hi
son to help him out AZ soon as possible
The boy seized his flther and struggle'
With all his strength to extricate him, bu
IN vain. The flames were approachin
rapidly. Joseph" said the father
, run and get an axe or saw, " but the bo
J could not find either. Pull me ou
then said the father. ''eyep If YOU hay